Motorized carts for transporting occupants thereof have become very popular in recent years and such carts are employed primarily by golfers, although such carts have also been employed by policemen in the performance of their duties, invalid persons unable to walk any great distance, etc. Usually such carts are so constructed as to enable two persons to occupy each cart and a seating area is provided for the occupants of the cart. A storage area is provided rearwardly of the seat area which receives and retains equipment such as a bag and golf clubs of a golfer.
At present, some cart manufacturers provide a motorized cart with a canopy or roof which extends over the occupants of the cart so as to protect them from the elements. However, such a canopy is typically mounted in a fixed position on the cart and a cart frame must be modified to support the canopy. Also, such canopies do not extend over the storage area for the golf clubs.
The type of golf cart with which this invention is concerned includes a rear compartment into which golf club bags and clubs are positioned during use of the cart. Commonly, the rear compartment of the cart is uncovered, even if the cart includes a roof or canopy section for covering the seating compartment of the cart. Hence, the golf bags and clubs positioned in the rear compartment of the cart are unprotected from weather precipitation, such as rainfall. In as much as a golfer""s grip on his clubs, hence his game, can be adversely affected if the grips of his clubs become wet, it would be desirable to provide protection for his bag and clubs from weather precipitation while the bag and clubs are positioned in the rear compartment of a golf cart. Existing canopy attachments are provided which are added to existing golf cart canopies. These attachments are typically expensive to fabricate and are cumbersome to use. Moreover, the attachments are not able to be easily integrated into the canopy structure and are typically physically unattractive.
With the above in mind, it is a primary object of the invention to provide an attachment to a golf cart canopy which will extend over the golf clubs and bags and may be easily retracted and extended to allow protection of the golf clubs and access to the clubs. Thus, the occupants of the cart as well as the golf clubs in a storage area would be protected from the elements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an attachment that is inexpensive to fabricate and is easy to integrate into an existing canopy design.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a new and improved golf cart canopy which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and provide better and more advantageous overall results.
The present invention relates to an extendable canopy attachment for the rear of a golf cart which is extendable and retractable over the rear compartment into which golf bags and clubs are stored.
The golf cart canopy attachment includes a shield which retracts within a recess in an underside of a golf cart roof. The shield includes a pair of curtains which are mounted along side and rear edges of the shield via a rod and hook system or a track system. The curtains may be extended or pulled along the length of the sides to the rear of the shield into contact with each other and are fastened to each other using suitable fastening means. When not in use, the curtains are pushed or pulled into storage positions on the opposed sides of the shield and are held in place by fastening means to rear roof supports.
The shield may be used in a fully extended or partially extended position. In the fully extended or open position, the shield is pulled out until stop members on the shield prevent further movement of the shield. The shield is then cantilevered and extends over the golf clubs stored in the rear of the cart.
The curtains are then pulled together and fastened to each other using fastening means. To access a golf club, the curtains are unfastened and one of the curtains pushed apart from the other curtain and the shield is partially retracted within the recess of the golf cart roof. This allows protection of the clubs from the elements as well as easy access to the clubs. The shield can be fully extended over the clubs after a club is selected. The curtains are drawn together again and refastened using the fastening means. Alternately, the shield may also be fully retracted into the recess when not in use. The curtains are then both pushed to the sides and pulled into a storage location on opposing sides of the golf cart and held in place using fastening means.
The shield is easy to move between extended and retracted positions. The curtains are also easy to move from a stored position to a fastened together position. Furthermore, the shield can be easily retrofitted onto existing golf cart roofs or canopies.
In particular, the golf cart canopy of the preferred embodiment includes a shield member having a body with first and second ends, first and second surfaces and first and second side members extending between the first and second ends. An elongated support is secured to the second surface of the shield and extends from the first end to the second end. Protective covers or curtains are each selectively secured to and extend from the elongated support using fastening means such as hook and loop fasteners. A stop member is secured to each side member of the shield for preventing movement of the shield with respect to the canopy roof. A pair of locking grooves in the first surface extend laterally between the two side members of the shield. First and second channels extend from the first surface between the first and second ends. A raised portion is formed between the two channels. A handle extends from the second end of the shield. Additional grooves across the first surface serve as rain gutters or drains for the shield.
The golf cart roof or canopy comprises a body with first and second ends and a raised portion extending between the first and second ends. The raised portion has first and second parallel walls and first and second guide channels which are removably secured to the walls. A locking groove is laterally disposed between the first and second walls of the raised portion. The shield slides with respect to the roof through engagement of the shield first and second channels with the first and second guide channels of the canopy. The stop members contact the wall extending along a perimeter of the canopy second surface. One of the shield locking grooves matingly engages with the canopy locking channel in one of the fully extended or fully retracted positions.
The curtains comprise fastening ties for securing the curtains in a stored position. The curtains also have fastening means such as hook and loop fasteners extending along an edge of the curtains which used to secure the curtains to each other. The shield further comprises sound-deadening material adjacent to the channels to minimize noise as the shield is moved with respect to the roof.
A principle advantage of the present invention resides in a provision of a golf cart canopy attachment which extends and retracts from an existing golf cart roof to provide protection for golf club bags and clubs.
Another advantage of the invention resides in the provision of the golf cart canopy attachment which is inexpensive to fabricate and is easy to integrate into a golf cart roof design.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is provision of a golf cart canopy attachment having a shield which is easy to move between extended and retracted positions.
Still another advantage of the present invention is provision of a golf cart canopy shield which can be easily retrofitted on existing golf cart roofs or canopies.
Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.